Carbureting process



March 1935. w. H. HERMSDORF 1,994,247

CARBURETING PROCESS Filed Aug. 22, 1930 Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,994,247 paaauaa'rmc raocass Application August 22, 1930,. Serial No. 476,987

3 Claims.

of the liquid so associated and produce a combustible gas which may be used for home or industrial purposes.

The utility, objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent from the accom-v panying drawing and following detailed description. In the drawing,

Figure 1 is an elevational view, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section, of suitable apparatus for carrying out my invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the instrumentalities shown in Figure 1;

I Figure 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the vaporizer utilized in conjunction with my invention; and

Figured is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 3.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 1 indicates a tank or receptacle of any desirable or suitable dimensions, which may be provided with a partition wall 2 dividing the inner portion thereof into a gas compartment 3' and a liquid compartment 4. It is to be understood of course that the wall 2 instead of being vertically positioned as shown, may be disposed at any angle so long as the receptacle 1 is divided into two compartments, one for liquid and the other for gas. A combustible liquid may be introduced ihto liquid compartment'd through filler opening 5 provided in the upper portion of the liquid compartment 4. A liquid level gauge (not shown) may be connected into aperture 6 in the upper portion of liquid compartments and may take the form of any conventional liquid level measuring device.

A casing 7 may be surmounted upon tank 1 and may be provided with a suitable removable cover 8. A pipe 9 may connect into casing 7. by means of the usual flange bushings 10 and may be adapted to carry air under pressure. The opposite end of pipe 9 may be suitably connected to a motor-operated blower (not shown). Pipe 9 may be connected to T 11 and a union 12 may be interposed in said pipe to facilitate such connection.

The air introduced through pipe 9 upon entering T 11 is divided into two streams, one passing through leg 13 and the other passing through leg.

14. The leg 14 may comprise a pipe 15 interposed in which is a check valve 16 of conventional form. The end of pipe 15 may join; pipe 16' through the medium of elbow 17, and interposed in pipe 16' is a hand-operated valve 18. Pipe 16' connects into fitting 19, which in turn is connected into the liquid compartment 4 of tank 1. By this arrangement air delivered from the blower may be carried through pipe 9, through check valve 16 which normally opens away from T 11, through pipe 16', and into compartment 4 where a superatmospheric pressure may be maintained above the surface of the liquidcontained therein.

The other divided stream of air which passes through the leg 13 comprising nipple 20 and check yalve 21 may pass to vaporizer 22.

The vaporizer 22 may comprise a substantially cylindrical body 23, threadedly mounted upon the upper end of which may be 'a fitting 24. Fitting 24 may be provided with air inlet opening 25, into which pipe 26 may be threadedly engaged. Pipe 26 may'form one extremity of the leg 13 and connects fitting 24 to check valve 21. The fitting 24 may be additionally provided with apertured bosses 27, into each of which a pipe 28 may be threadedly engaged. By referring particularly to Figure 4, it can-readily be seen that pipes 28 and pipe 26 are disposed at right angles to each other, the center lines of which join within the hollow portion of the fitting 24. The purpose of this particular disposition of said pipes will be hereinafter more fully described.

A member 29 comprising a hollow cylindrical stem 30 having spiral fins or threads 31 formed upon its outer periphery may be disposed within the body 23, and the spaces formed between said spiral threads or fins 31 may connect into the hollow portion of the fitting 24. The opposite endoi said spaces provided between said fins may connect into the gas compartment 3 of tank 1 by meansof the connecting bushing 32, which may be mounted upon tank 1 by suitable means such as rivets 33. 4

A cartridge type electrical heating unit, the upper end of which is shownat 34, in Figure 1, may be inserted on the inside of the hollow stem 30, said unit being connected to a suitable junction box 35 mounted upon the inner wall of casing '7,

sure may be carried through pipe 9, check valve 16, and into fitting 19, from whence the air may pass to liquid compartment 4, thereby establishing superatmospheric pressure within said compartment. Since valve 36 is simultaneously opened with the operation of the blower, and since superatmospheric pressure is established uponthe surface of the liquid within"compart-' ment 4, a-quantity of said liquid will be forced by said pressure through pipe 37, through valve 36, and into pipes 28, from whence s (1 liquid may be discharged into the hollow portion of fitting 24. Air under pressure from pipe 9 may also pass through check valve 21 and be discharged through pipe 26 into the hollow portion of fitting 24 at right angles to the streams issuing from the pipes 28. The result of the intersecting streams of liquid and air within fitting 24 is that theliquld will be broken up into minute particles and substan- 30 tially the entire portion thereof will be carried in entrainment in the air.

. It frequently occurs that either not all of the liquid is broken up and carried by the air, or that particles of said liquid condense out of the gas thus formed. In this event, inasmuch as any liquid or gas entering the hollow portion of the fitting 24 must pass downwardly through the spaces provided by the fins or threads 31, ifheat is applied to said fins this residual liquid which has not been properly vaporized or whichhas condensed out of the gas, will'be vaporized by the heat imparted thereto by the fins 31. In this manner any fiuid entering compartment 3 from the vaporizer 22 must of necessity be in a gaseous form.

The heating unitinserted in the tubular member 30, if desired may also be connected in parallel with-the motor and the solenoid'valve 36, in which case heat will only be applied when liquid is being delivered from compartment 4 to vaporizer 22. This arrangement is susceptible to full automatic operation, inasmuch as the switch which controls the simultaneous operation of the motor, the solenoidvalve and the heater, may be of the pressure operated type, for instance a mercoid switch may be used, which may operate .upon the pressure withineompartment 3 rls-' ing to a predetermined maximum and may again operate to de-energize the above mentioned elements when the pressure within said compartment is reduced to apredetermined'minimum.

The gas thus generated in'compartment 3 may liquid and forming a combustible gas.

be drawn off through opening 38 and may be transferred by pipes (not shown) to any. point of utilization.

It can be readily seen that herein is described a means and method of producing a substantially dry combustible gas, since any of the liquid not vaporized mechanically is brought into that condition by passing the same. incontact -,with-. the heated surfaces ofthe fins 31.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of carbureting air to form combustible gas which comprises confining a main body of combustible liquid in a closed zone, sub jecting the liquid in said zone to super-atmospheric pressure and causing a predetermined quantity of said liquid to be forced from said zone, reducing aportion of said quantity of liquid to a finely divided condition by subjecting same to contact with a stream of air under pressure in a.

separate remote zone, causing said air to carry said portion in entrainment, and subjecting the air, the entrained liquid and the remaining part of said predetermined quantity of liquid not carried in entrainment, to heat, thereby vaporizing, the entire predetermined quantity of liquid and producing a gas, and confining said gas within a closed zone.

' 2. A mn-ihod of carbureting air to form combustible gas which comprises confining a main body of combustible liquid in a closed zone, subjecting the liquid in said zone to' super-atmospheric pressure and causing a predetermined quantity of said liquid to be forced from said zone, reducing a portion ofsaid quantity of liquid to a finely divided condition by subjecting same to contact with a stream of air'under pressure, causiing said air to carry said portion in entrainment,

and subjecting the air, theventrained liquid and the remaining part of said predetermined quantity of liquid, not carried in entrainment, to heat, thereby vaporizing the entire predetermined quantity of liquid and producing a gas, and stor-' ing said gas within an isolated closed zone.

3. A method of carbureting air to form'a sub-- stantially dry'combustible gas which comprisesreil i confining a main body of combustible liquid in aclosed zone, subjecting the liquid in said zone to superatmospheric pressure and causing a. predetermined quantity of said liquid to be forced from said zone, reducing a portion of said quantity of liquid to a finely divided condition' by subjecting the same in the form of a stream under-superat mospheric pressure'to contact with a stream of .air under superatmospheric-pr'essure in a remote zone; causing said air to carry said portion in entrainment, and then subjecting the air, the .entrained liquid and theremaining part of said predetermined quantity'of liquid, not carried in entrainment, to heat, thereby vaporizing all of said- WALTER H, 

